First-year IU basketball coach Darian Devries understands what it means to make contact with a fan base.
That is why he brought his team to the social epicenter of Bloomington for the first annual Hoosier Hoops on Kirkwood Thursday evening. That is why he closed the event with a statement on the upper floor of the upper floor that were on the balcony that “this next round is on me.”
That is why after the festivities, he remained behind to shake his hand and take photos with any Hoosier fan that is sufficiently determined to fight through the crowd for a place next to the metal-held, improvised court.
Less than seven months since his recruitment in March, he is working hard to solve a problem that has been failing for years. Indiana Basketball pushed his fans away – Devries pulls them back in.
“Indiana basketball is important for many people,” Devries said after an open training Tuesday. “We want people to feel that they don’t look from far away. We want them to feel they are inside and they are useful with us when we go through it.”
Thursday’s event at Kirkwood was a good start.
That doesn’t mean it was perfect. It certainly wasn’t. The spotlights at public address announcer Jeremy Gray – settled in the top view pub of the upper floor – would have set the atmosphere, if not for a microphone that consistently cuts out.
First -year student Trent Sisley’s first introduction was rather overwhelming when the microphone could not pick up a single syllable with his name of three syllable.
Apart from the technical difficulties, the replacement of Hoosier Hysteria had its highlights. A member of the student Athletic Board won a game of Knock -out against different players for men and ladies and earned the second loudest cheers of the evening. The first place was from Sisley, who came in a shot from the balcony above a nearby restaurant – albeit at his seventh attempt.
What is even more important is that Hoosier Hoops on Kirkwood has put the team of Devries – quite literally – in the front and in the middle of Bloomington.
“From our position we want to ensure that we are a large part of the community, a large part of the campus,” said Devries. “We want to give as many opportunities as possible to have those interactions, because I think we have a group that is fun to be around.”
Thursday evening marked the introduction of fans into a completely new selection. For once their first impressions were not made of the raised Karmozijnrode seats with a view of the assembly hall. Instead, Indiana Basketball came to the students.
Students watched how Tayton Conerway danced during the cheer team and the display of the band of the “William Tell Overture”. They saw players from both basketball programs that support each other during a 3-point match. They witnessed Lamar Wilkerson and Sisley side by side, laughing together while recording a video on social media.
“People don’t really know our new team because we have a whole new selection,” said Wilkerson. “They don’t know us individually. So for us to go outside and just be around them and let them be with us, is important.”
For years Indiana grabbed basketball on the past. The prestige of five red banners made both the program and the players in it inviolable. The possibilities for the media to observe practice were not existing. The connection of the fans with players was far away.
Indiana lived in the past – and alienated the present. Devries knows that it should change.
“What makes this place special: you walk to Assembly Hall, you see the banners,” Devries said, paced around the temporary Kirkwood Court. “But you know what makes this place really special, it’s this, here.”
It’s just the beginning. De Hoosiers are organizing a free Intrasquad Scrimmage in Assembly Hall on Friday evening. Later this month Indiana will return the Spookzaal of Hoops. As soon as a staple from the Tom Crean era, the event enables players to make further contact with the community by handing out sweets and signing signatures for children.
Although the recruitment of Devries will ultimately be assessed by the product on the floor, his efforts to bring fans – especially young fans – back into the fold, have not gone unnoticed.
“I’m not going to lie, this turned out to be a great evening,” a student told a friend who followed the event on Kirkwood.
Whether that comment was caused by the lake-free tab of Devries at the upper floor or a result of his many handshakes, fist bumps and photo-stops, one thing is certain: it was because of Devries. It was because of an obligation to return Indiana basketball to the people of Bloomington.
“People love this game,” said Devries. “They love this game here in Indiana and we do that too. We want everyone to feel a part of it.”
(Photocredit: iu athletics)
See more: Media, Darian Devries
#Starting #Kirkwood #Darian #Devries #connects #Basketball #Bloomington